Meadows man pleads guilty to extortion

A young Meadows man will return to provincial court in Corner Brook for a sentencing hearing in December on a charge of extortion after changing his plea to guilty.

Kyle Stephen Hunt, 22, is currently being held in custody and appeared via video conference for what was to be the continuation of his trial on the extortion charges and charges of sexual assault, forcible confinement and assault.

The incidents are alleged to have occurred between Dec. 29, 2016 and Jan. 6, 2017 in two locations in the Bay of Islands.

The extortion charge alleges that he threatened his alleged victim in the sexual assault in an attempt to get her to do something he wanted by threatening to release previously acquired nude photos of her.

Hunt’s lawyer, Peter Chaffey asked that a sentencing hearing in the matter be set to Dec. 21. He expects the Crown will make a motion with regards to the other three charges at that time.

A pre-sentence report has been requested.

Hunt also has a number or other charges including the alleged sexual assault of another victim between February and June. Those charges and a number of others alleged to have occurred in July had been set for plea on Monday.

Chaffey said he received disclosure on the charges and asked to have all those matters set to Nov. 23.